A statement from police says a young couple passed through the Prehistoric North Carolina exhibit while other visitors were in the area. They returned three minutes later, and the man jumped the exhibit barrier, picked up the dinosaur casting, climbed out and put it in a large purse carried by the woman.

The stolen polymer resin model of an Edmontosaurus hatchling is about 12 to 14 inches long and worth about $10,000. .

Police say the two are also suspects in a similar offense on the same day at the Museum of History.